Upcoming Events

Emergency Closing Information

Find out if we are closed due to inclement weather or other emergencies, click the link below and search for "Hopewell".www.emergencyclosings.com. We also send out alerts to your preferred method of contact (typically cell phone texts,email or voicemail). Contact your school to update your contact information.

Referral Process

Each Hopewell School/Bridgepoint site provides educational, therapeutic and transitional services that provide students the tools necessary for a successful transition to independence. But, which site provides the appropriate setting for a particular student to reach their educational goals? In order to determine that, we provide a comprehensive referral process for each prospective student as outlines below.

Who Do We Serve?

Each site serves students with different special education categorical labels. The following is a list of primary disabilities that we currently serve at Hopewell School Joliet, Hopewell Career Academy and Bridgepoint Academy of New Lenox:

Emotionally Disturbed

Specific Learning Disability

Traumatic Brain Injury

Other Health Impairment

Our Orland Park Bridgepoint site also serves students with Mental Impairments as well as the catergories listed above.

What Paperwork Do We Need?

Before scheduling an initial intake meeting, we review information about prospective students. Each program in New Lenox, Joliet, and Orland Park offer various services to students. A thorough review of student information assists us in determining which school site would best serve the prospective student’s needs. Prior to an initial intake meeting, school districts must submit all pertinent documentation regarding the student including the following:

The Most Recent IEP

The Latest MDC

Current Psychological Tests

Health Records

Updated Grade Reports and Transcripts

The Initial Intake Meeting

After a review of the documentation, we contact all parties to schedule an initial intake meeting at the appropriate site. The meeting should include the prospective student, parents or guardians, and a representative from the referring school district.

The School Visit

If the intake meeting participants feel that the placement might be appropriate, the prospective student will be scheduled for a visit in a classroom at one of our schools. The visit gives us a chance to evaluate the student in our setting and affords the student an opportunity to also participate and experience our school setting. After the visit, we make a determination whether or not we will feel the student is appropriate for our program.The student and parents/guardians also have the opportunity to make the decision as to whether they want to attend our schools.

What Happens After A Student Starts?

After a student begins attending our schools, we complete some formal assessments to evaluate a student's academic, emotional and transitional status. For academics, the primary points of emphasis are the student's current levels of achievement in reading, math, and language usage. We utilize a computer-based testing program to determine the math, reading and language usage levels of each student. For emotional status, we assess students in individual and group counseling sessions as well as more formalized assessments such as the completion of the BASC testing battery. For transition, we utilize diagnostic transition assessments such as career exploration inventories (www.careercruising.com), the "Road to Independence", and "Bridges".